Humid Summer Evenings Research Paper

Prior to being assigned the reading of the memoir “Always Running”, by Luis Rodriguez, I had never given much thought on juveniles involved in gang life. Rodriguez achieved success as an award-winning poet; sure the streets would no longer haunt him - until his own son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in the vivid memoir, “Always Running.” “Always Running” is the compilation of events Luis experienced during his youth in San Gabriel. The theme of the book is to always strive for the best things in life and to always take a stand for what you believe. Lured by the seemingly invincible gang culture of East L.A., he witnessed countless shootings and beatings, as well as senseless acts of street crime against his friends and family members. As a Latino in a poor neighborhood, Luis struggled through criticism, stereotypes, and mistreatment. With the help of his mentor, Chente, Luis saw a way out through education and the power of word to successfully break free from years of violence and desperation.

There are some people part of a gang in the neighborhood like southside or O block. Who didn’t choose what they are right now. They wanted to be successful in their lives and they also wanted to achieve their goals but the atmosphere in those neighborhood wouldn’t allow them to be successful. In this article “Addicted to guns”, Chicago reader reporter Mick Dumke tells the story of Tony Wade.“Wade's grandfather did what he could to keep his grandson out of trouble—he sent Wade to Catholic schools, pushed him to excel in his studies, required him to attend church on Sundays, and taught him to work in his carpet business. Wade became a

Do readers believe that any one person can turn their life into something beautiful, even when all they have seen in their life is ugly? Based on this non-fiction poem the narrator finally realized his life wasn’t as bad as it could be. In Baca’s “Cloudy day,” readers find a speaker very attuned to the outer world while being incarcerated. Born in New Mexico of Indio-Mexican descent, Jimmy Santiago Baca was raised first by his grandmother and later sent to an orphanage. A runaway at age 13, it was after Baca was sentenced to five years in a maximum security prison that he began to turn his life around: Jimmy learned to read and write and unearthed a voracious passion for poetry.

As I grew older, it was impossible to notice that my world was imperfect. In elementary school, all my parent’s problems here hidden; I didn’t understand my family’s economic status. As I grew older and began to ask my parents question about our lifestyle and compared it to the other people around us. This conversation would always end in the same place; because we can't afford it. My high school is composed of economically unstable families, and economically stable families. Seeing that other families were better off than mine, I grew up with the idea that a comfortable life, is a luxurious life. I know that others around

The odds are stacked upon Luis Rodriguez, an upcoming sixteen year old that has found himself in the world of gangs. Luis is a human, and it is expected that he would make many mistakes in his life, however when given choices, he always seems to choose the wrong one and never learns from his mistakes. The theme of Luis Rodriguez’s autobiography, “Always Running,” is that many people feel like they are alone in the world, and that the world is always against them, but there will always be people that will stand in your corner and help them achieve what they were meant for. He proves this by including examples from his childhood and the mistakes he has made and the supports he has had.

Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, the author of Random Family, depicts a diverse perspective of unpleasant life experiences people suffer from within ghetto communities. Although Random Family was not my choice to read, I am privileged to have read this remarkable book as it conveys distinctive similarities that accurately represent the male populace who live in underprivileged urban communities. To expand on the earlier mentioned, young men who cohabitate in ghetto communities often have relatives who actively influence their participation in gangs, drug sells, and incarceration. As I read the book, I became conscious of the chapter headings as it correlates with the endeavors that young males face of a lower socioeconomic status. For example, chapter titles such as The Street I, Lock Down II, Upstate III, House-to-House IV and Breaking Out V represent the struggles young men face at a micro-level (Strong & Cohen, 2014, p. 51). Random Family conveys the message that men in ghetto communities is unable to overcome the adversities associated with the street life; however, this message is untrue as there are men who have prevailed over the life they inherited becoming successful individuals and not allowing themselves to become victims of their environment.

Chapter one of Luis J. Rodríguez’s memoir, Always Running: La Vida Loca, details Rodríguez’s youth living in poverty and homelessness in Los Angeles, California. With his vivid language and detail, he helps me see how growing up in this state changed his view of the world and of himself. One way poverty changed his view on the world is how he hated the cold, even more that someone who only experiences cold in the outside. His family didn’t have the money to pay for gas or light, so the house was always cold. Their bath water was always cold.

The movie Boyz N the Hood is an illustration of how a group of early adolescents’ lives was affected negatively due to the environment they lived in. These adolescents lived in an environment where drugs, gangs, and shootings were the center of their community. Living in a predominantly African American community these adolescents were faced with many misfortunes. Ricky one of the adolescent characters I have decided to evaluate for this particular paper was faced with adversity.

In our society today, it’s a rigorous challenge to survive. Consequently for the ones who live in a threatening neighborhood. Not just to survive, but also to become successful in one’s own life. Luis J. Rodriguez, the author of Always Running, is one of the many people who went through very menacing times in the 1960s as he was part of a gang. Tupac Shakur, who was affiliated with thugs. Malcolm X who was a thief. Every person had their own way of turning their life around from their adverse past life to become a better person.

In my story there are many social problems that are exposed. In this I will focus on one specifically. In the book Luis Rodriguez is exposed to gang violence in LA. he talks about what he went through and all he did to overcome his environment. I will explain why it is necessary to teach about gang violence. And summaries the exposure of

Stories,” mainly because I personally live in the Los Angeles area and my parents grew up in parts of South Central and East Los Angeles as children. I found this this book would be most relatable to myself, since I am a Latina and my parents who have experiences a tremendous amount of discrimination, poverty, and violence in the past. They have over came these obstacles and were determined to provide my siblings and I with a brighter future. While researching a little more into the subject matter, I found that my initial perceptions on this book were true. Luis Rodriguez wrote this book to give his neighborhood of East Los Angeles a voice, in order to bring awareness to the unfortunate experiences that many, like my parents, have had to go through. My parents have shared many of their personal experiences while growing up in such a tough neighborhood and I was extremely interested in listening to the stories of

He also discusses how the youth in El Barrio face so much conflict outside of their neighborhood just based on where they live. This study predominately follows the lives of Primo, Caesar, and Candy

1979 Parris Island, June, July, August and the blanket of sand flea 's heat and humidity.

August day in Miami, Florida. That day the temperature was above 95 F. Stella, was on her way to buy the newspaper when she decided to visit her mother-in-law Diana, who is 79 years old, something she does regularly is to visit her in the morning because she lives alone, and she knows that Diana does not like to put on air conditioning because the expenses are unnecessary for her.

Weather has a way of making people feel a certain way, by affecting their mood. Bright and sunny weather tends to make people happier, while dull and dreary weather brings about less appealing emotions, such as grumpiness, sadness, or fear. Tornado weather, especially in tornado alley, is a source of emotion. For many people living in tornado alley, tornado season offers a mix of fear and excitement. However, for most, when the tornado is actually present, fear tends to take over and the excitement is lost. The tornado that occured on May 20th, 2013 was a great example of how a tornado can turn from exhilirating to terrifying.